July 11, 2023

Amberdata Crypto Snapshot #8

Even slow weeks are not dull weeks in crypto. Soon after multiple Bitcoin Spot ETFs were submitted, the SEC responded by rejecting applications due to a lack of clarity. Many of these ETFs have resubmitted applications (ex. Nasdaq) with additional clarifications naming crypto and cash custodians. Within potential market uncertainty, volumes appear to be normalizing across spot markets, DEXs, and DeFi lending protocols.

On the NFT front, there has been community drama from Azuki (a popular NFT collection) after the release of the highly anticipated Azuki Elementals collection saw the floor drop from around 18 ETH to under 6 ETH. The collection did not quite live up to expectations, with many arguing that it looked remarkably similar to the original. This led to multiple DAO votes, including updating the background of the Azuki Elementals profile picture (aka PFPs) and a distribution of the 20,000 ETH (~$40m) raised from the sale to the AzukiDAO – a DAO which many speculate was created out of malicious intent. Other popular collections like Bored Ape Yacht Club and Mutant Ape Yacht Club also saw a steady drop in floor prices for their PFP collections but have somewhat rebounded since.

Spot Market

Amberdata Centralized Exchange (CEX) comparisons between the weeks of 07-04 and 06-27 Binance BinanceUS Coinbase bybit gemini kraken bitstamp

Centralized Exchange (CEX) comparisons between the weeks of 07-04 and 06-27.

Centralized Exchange (CEX) trading volume for top 6 traded pairs across all exchanges. bnb USD BTC USD DOGE ETH SOL XRP

Centralized Exchange (CEX) trading volume for the top 6 traded pairs across all exchanges.

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Centralized Exchange (CEX) token price percentage change since 06-05-2023.

Spot trading volume appears to be normalizing after the ETF filings last month. This could be good news as prices across several key tokens saw major spikes, with BTC returning above $30k and ETH above $1,900. The drop in volume shows some stability in price at this range as these tokens haven’t seen a large sell-off since their run.

Centralized Exchange (CEX) slippage for BTC / USDT trading pairs binance binanceUS coinbase gemini huobi kraken

Centralized Exchange (CEX) slippage for BTC / USDT trading pairs.

Notably, Gemini has seen a huge spike in buy-side slippage for BTC/USDT trading pairs in the last week. Gemini has long pushed for Bitcoin Spot ETFs, having filed what they believe to be the first Bitcoin ETF application ten years ago as well as a second attempt in 2018 (both were rejected by the SEC). Gemini is under the ownership of the Digital Currency Group, which also owns Grayscale. Grayscale manages the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), an OTCQX-traded investment trust, which serves as a vehicle for digital currency investment and is currently the biggest Bitcoin fund globally. GBTC has traded for a long time at a discount to net asset value (NAV) since the fund doesn’t allow redemptions, meaning investors must sell shares on secondary markets. Fun fact: GBTC previously traded at a significant premium to NAV. One fund that attempted to harvest this premium: Three Arrows Capital (3AC).

DeFi DEXs

Decentralized Exchange (DEX) protocol comparisons between the weeks of 07-04 and 06-27. Uniswap v2 v3 sushiswap

Decentralized Exchange (DEX) protocol comparisons between the weeks of 07-04 and 06-27.

Decentralized Exchange (DEX) top traded pools over the last 30 days. USDC WETH USDT WBTC PEPE DAI DNT SGT wstETH

Decentralized Exchange (DEX) top traded pools over the last 30 days.

USDC/WETH continues to outperform every other trading pair when it comes to swap volumes, with an overwhelming majority being traded on Uniswap v3. Interestingly, we can also see the return of PEPE to the top five swapped tokens on the PEPE/WETH pool. The outstanding question: Where does the best yield lie? Tokens are high-risk high-reward opportunities for some, but to others the risk of uncertainty simply isn’t worth it.

DeFi Borrow/Lend

DeFi Lending protocol comparisons between the weeks of 07-04 and 06-27. Aave v2 v3 compound makerDAO

DeFi Lending protocol comparisons between the weeks of 07-04 and 06-27.

DeFi protocol deposit comparisons between the weeks of 07-04 and 06-27. aave v2 v3 compound v2 makerDAO

DeFi protocol deposit comparisons between the weeks of 07-04 and 06-27.

Similar to DEX and CEX volumes, DeFi lending borrows appear to be normalizing across the board. Aave v2 has continued to be the most used platform even over the likes of Aave v3, with deposit volumes nearly doubling its newer counterpart.

Amberdata Aave v2 Deposit and Withdrawal volumes

Aave v2 Deposit and Withdrawal volumes

Aave v2 top 5 assets for average withdrawal volume by transaction. DAI USDT WBTC WETH stETH

Aave v2 top 5 assets for average withdrawal volume by transaction.

The notable exception from the overall volume “normalization” was a series of extremely large DAI withdrawals from Aave v2. Presumably, DAI was removed from the pool to swap for other tokens such as USDC – which had large Uniswap v3 swap volumes over the last month (shown in the previous charts above).

Networks

Network comparisons between the weeks of 07-04 and 06-27. bitcoin bitcoincash ethereum litecoin zcash

Network comparisons between the weeks of 07-04 and 06-27.

amberdata Network transaction comparisons between Ethereum and Bitcoin.

Network transaction comparisons between Ethereum and Bitcoin.

amberdata Network average transaction fee and block size comparisons between Ethereum and Bitcoin.

Network average transaction fee and block size comparisons between Ethereum and Bitcoin.

There has been a stabilizing trend in terms of transaction count, fees, and block size on the networks front. However, there was a notable spike for transaction fees in July, which may be correlated to the surge in NFT activity. Although NFT floor prices have been on a downward trend for a while, they experienced a slight increase over the last day, with traders sensing potential opportunities from the dramatic collection dropoff over the last month.